Expat wanderer

Chilly Pensacola Sunrise

Today is the annual homeless services day, and homeless count day when hundreds of Pensacolians leave their beds at o-dark-thirty to serve our brothers and sisters who don’t have beds to sleep in, don’t have a roof over their head, don’t always have something to eat.

The homeless love Pensacola because it in so temperate, but even the temperate climate of Pensacola can be occasionally brutal, as it is right now. The Waterfront Mission has said it will take in anyone who comes, to shelter them from the harsh mid-freezing temperatures.

It’s not like Pensacola loves the homeless. The city has passed ordinances preventing them from begging, and from soliciting at the traffic stops. On the other hand, it’s not like they are going away, so charitable organizations in Pensacola do their best to care for the homeless population, providing cold weather shelter, meals, toiletries, places to collect mail and to bathe. There is a free health clinic. There is occasional dental screening. There are veteran services, who try to house and take care of our walking wounded. There is even a service for the pets of the homeless, in case of hurricane or similar emergency.These things make me very proud of Pensacola.

This morning dawned very cold:

AdventureMan crawled out of bed into the cold and chill, donned several layers of clothing and headed out to help with the count, and with serving around 500 people a hot meal. He does it because he loves doing it and I smile thinking how “The Lord loves a cheerful giver.”

Funny how timely this post is for me. I spent last night at the ladies homeless overflow shelter as a hostess-something I do a couple of times a year. The congregations in the area take 2-3 week turns providing night time staffing for the shelter which is located in one of the downtown churches.

I only do the quilts – I admire your service. If you are anything like AdventureMan, the experience brings its own satisfaction, even joy in being able to make a difference, even a small difference. We can’t solve all the problems, but we can take care of this small one🙂 Good work, Momcat.